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Everything posted by ToughButterCup
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Carrying wood on top of van roof.
ToughButterCup replied to gavztheouch's topic in Building Materials
Yes. But if needs must enough, No. -
LABC or private. Protek structural warranty?
ToughButterCup replied to flanagaj's topic in New House & Structural Warranties
At this remove we can't tell. The answer is likely to involve local politics (not party politics - just simple chemistry). And its really hard to find out because ' the office' isn't the representative who comes and weighs up what's happened. In your situation I'd ask around local builders and agents and listen to what they have to say. Not an easy job because to get a good 'feel' for the answer, you're going to need to talk to lots of people. As usual @nod is bang on the money (above) . Our experience exactly. -
Self build laziness
ToughButterCup replied to Pocster's topic in General Self Build & DIY Discussion
Your laziness (so called) is probably about self-care. Working efficiently. Being canny. We all need some downtime. .... You appear to me to be a reasonably hardworking person - for a Brizztolean that is. 😑 -
Windy weather gives me extreme anxiety.
ToughButterCup replied to gavztheouch's topic in General Construction Issues
Yes. And here's why It happened a good few years ago. The eventual outcome was very positive ( I subsequently wrote a good few post about the consequences and outcomes) But I still get nervous. There is now no good reason to be, but trauma takes ages to heal. Here's how I cope (to an extent) I prepare. I scan Met Office Weather Alerts and any that affect the area around Morecambe Bay I read in detail. We are exposed to the East, and Northwest. I look more at gust values than the system wind numbers. Gusts in excess of 50 mean that it's worth cleaning up the site, trying things down and checking that the chainsaw works and has fuel. I charge the floodlights and put them ready in the kitchen. Car moved and parked in the wind shadow. Outside sheds locked. The wall which collapsed is now full of concrete that's over 5 years old. That's the strongest part of the house now. Doesn't concern me at all. But my stomach still churns. I'm no shrinking violet, enjoy some slightly risky sport (still). I used to sail a lot. And would deliberately go sailing at the start of the season in the biggest Spring storm I could find. I'm happy testing myself. But not happy being tested out of my control. But the trauma of the wall collapse still gets me - every single time there's a sustained 60mph or more gust. There's no way the house will suffer. It's the lack of control . So I go for a fast hard hike up one of the local mountains - where it's inevitably windier. Come back down to relative calm. And sleep better when knackered. -
Thats a very neat hole @Pocster, very neat. I have a (suitably professional) feeling that you're getting warm
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Cracked plaster ; leaking roof ?
ToughButterCup replied to Pocster's topic in General Construction Issues
Any external cracks by the way? -
Cracked plaster ; leaking roof ?
ToughButterCup replied to Pocster's topic in General Construction Issues
Apologies for my somewhat tart response earlier....😑 Nothing is going to happen quickly, it's very important but not urgent. Over the next year, Inspect, measure, document, plan , execute. Replan. Rinse, repeat. Build a list of facts. When that's done,the job specification will write itself You might want to look at similar houses in the immediate vicinity. Repeated patterns? Anyone else locally had the same thing happen? Who fixed it, how? We inherited a house with similar symptoms and found that there were at least 6 others with exactly the same problem in the same row. (Broken foul drain scouring out the foundations leading to multiple diagonal cracks in the stair well - " broken back" ) Been up on the roof yet? The surveyor taught me a simple trick about the cracks... Insert a piece of card (paper or plastic) in the crack leaving enough of the card outside the crack such that the card is able to move with the fissure (but not fall out in a bit of wind). In other words create a telltale. Watch it. Or photograph it over the next few months. That will show you the rate of change. Helps you decide how urgent the issue is. Now, how's that leak - leaking or not? -
We still scroll past them.....
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You lot are so (expletive deleted)ed
ToughButterCup replied to Pocster's topic in General Self Build & DIY Discussion
Being a Mod is hard work @Pocster. -
Slightly, uniformly pitched the correct way 😑
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Who wrote the report? If the author was employed by the LPA, commission your own report. If you paid for the report above, don't submit it. Get the BS5837 Impact and assessment report done. If needs be, compromise. The issue is getting a house built , not merely protecting a tree.
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Cracked plaster ; leaking roof ?
ToughButterCup replied to Pocster's topic in General Construction Issues
The fundamental problem is that it involves a relatively inaccessible area. One that costs money merely to observe. It's a bullet biter @Pocster. You know what to do. -
The Buildhub Sealant Challenge - are you up to it eh?
ToughButterCup replied to ToughButterCup's topic in Tools & Equipment
son, that's uncharacteristically modest of you.... bless. -
Staying sealant smear free that is. There's summat about sealant (CT1 or otherwise) that makes me revert to the carefree snotty-nosed 6 year old I once was. On this build, I've been using the stuff for 10 years. And still - still - get it everywhere. Trousers is a favourite, knees mostly. But yesterday I sat in a smut of it and - you're there before me dear reader - distributed it round the house. Sofa was worst, followed by the toilet lid ( how Ian, how? ) , the cat's fur, the dog's fur, my wife's weeding 'chair' , the grandchildren's tent, my marker pen, the wheelbarrow. Best of all on a jar of marmalade. Figure that one out - - - - All because I sealed a slot drain in place with CT1. A ten second job. You can tell the plumbers and tilers in our pub : look at their work trousers - there's a few dozen white coloured finger smudges round their pockets. So its not just me. I bet there's a practising Buildhubber who can let us into the secret of how not to get sealant everywhere. If you know, tell us all please.
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I think that people who do no more than consistently dream about self building are also self builders. Because - for now - that's the best they can do . Every single one of us on this site started with a house build dream. A chat in the pub, snatched looks at building sites, sneaky plans to buy an expensive tool - useless today but will come in handy 'on the build' . (Mine was for a HiLift jack) You notice every damn digger sitting doing fekall in a field. Sitting there leering at you. Whispering 'buymebigboy' You know that with a tweek of those now semi formal plans you could might should ought maybe possibly will buy one and sell it soon as we're finished with it (and make a profit).. The business case writes itself dunnit.... Stands to reason. Just need to get it past HerIndoors. Hmmm. Another night's lost sleep or tumescent dream. You pluck up courage to whisper half formed thoughts to your partner, then a year later to mates. Suddenly you realise you're routinely saying 'We're thinking about applying for.....' That's it. Hooked. You are a self builder. We had that first dream in 1985. (Land purchased for £1000, 0.385 hectare) 40 years later we still don't have sign off. Next year eh?
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Number doesn't matter. Quality does. All objections must be Material to the application. Many - most? - are often Immaterial
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Don't be. - concerned that is. Its normal. Get your preferred supplier to provide a design for both the steel and the POSIs.
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Economics of DIY and Self Building
ToughButterCup replied to Gus Potter's topic in General Self Build & DIY Discussion
Because illustrating the point - self building is about more than a house -
Economics of DIY and Self Building
ToughButterCup replied to Gus Potter's topic in General Self Build & DIY Discussion
Yes. And No. Why Yes? The logic used is clear, simple, accurate. Why No ? Because self-building is about more than the build. -
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Insightful piece on more or less today.
ToughButterCup replied to MikeSharp01's topic in Environmental Building Politics
Way back then ( ...old threads...) I think the core of the argument against pv and battery installations - at that time - was the initial upfront cost and payback time. That equation is now different. I've lost 'track' of the cost / benefit analysis. How long does ( should / might) it take -now- to repay (say) 10K's worth of battery installation? -
Chicken Shed - Self Build in Mid Devon
ToughButterCup replied to Willus's topic in Introduce Yourself
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Talking to our architect about leaks - he mentioned one he was working on for a client - who has spent a lot of money and months searching and can't find the source. It happens to be my gym. It has had a leak for two years now; it still drips (gently) next to one piece of equipment I always use. They've had several contracting companies look at the issue - crawling up in the roof space, window seals renewed. It takes roughly one whole day from rainfall to one drip appearing in the bucket. And continues to drip for a while after the rain stopped. I used to think it was only boats that leaked in a really annoying way - right over my bunk bed. Not anyone else's bunk. Mine. My roof leaks once a year. A tiny 'weep' . Now I know better . You are in good company lad.....
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Sweet spot when buying a digger
ToughButterCup replied to Post and beam's topic in General Self Build & DIY Discussion
Exactly what I would have said.
